Closure for bottles, jars, and other containers



Jan. 18, 1944. c. MAGNESEN 2,339,343

CLOSURE FOR BOTTLES, JARS, AND OTHER CONTAINERS Filed April 11, 1940 fi. 4 INVENTOR.

(697E255 0, WiWEJZ/V ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 18, 1944 CLOSURE FOR no'r'rrins, mnsL-m o'rnsa CONTAINERS Charles D; Magnesen, Chicago, Ill.,. assignor to TheMagnesen Seal and Closure Company, a, corporation of Illinois Application April 11, 1940, Serial No; 329,012

4 Claims.

My invention relates generally to a closure member or cap adapted to effectively close and seal the mouths or openings of bottles, Jars, metal cans, metal drums, or other containers, and

which may be applied and removed byhand as many times as desired.

My invention relates more specifically to a device of the character described particularly adapted for use with bottles, jars or other containers which have a comparatively large opening and are not readily capped or uncapped with the closure members at present on the market.

While the general construction of my improved cap may be similar to that shown and described in United States Patent No. 2,045,480, issued June 23, 1936, to Hooker Magnesen and myself, yet my present invention is directed to a type of cap which is not at present on the market and .contains certain advantages in construction particularly adaptable to caps or closure members for containers with large openings.

One of the .principal objects of my invention is to provide an improved cap which attains a high and uniform degree of effectiveness in closing or sealing the openings of bottles or other containers to which it is applied, notwithstanding some irregularities in the size or shape of the necks of bottles or the tops or openings of other containers to which it is applied.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive cap which can be cheaply manufactured and which can be applied and removed easily by manual operation a large number of times without becoming bent or distorted or losing its effectiveness.

A further object is to provide an improved cap or cover of the type described which has interconnecting means between the cover portion and the retainer which comprise the same so that when the cover is removed it will not become dis-assembled so that the separate parts may be lost or mislaid.

A further object is to provide an improved cap or closure member constructed of a number of sheet metal parts or stampings assembled and fastened together to form a unit so that in open or closed position the cap ensemble is always handled as a unit.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying sheet'of drawings, upon which Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved cap. or

I closure member;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on a larger scale showing the same mounted upon a large open-mouthed jar or other container;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a fragment of the top member and the outer member of the D;

.Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the same upon a container in a sealing position, the view being taken on the line' 4- 4 of Fig. 1;

' Fig. is a fragmentaryiperspective view of the top member showing the manner in which the sealing clips are formed;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view similar to- Fig. 4, taken generally on the lines 6-6 of Fig. 3;

which consists of two principal sheet metal members Ill and i2 forming a top member and an outer member respectively. The top member, which is formed of sheet metal bent to the desired size and shape, may be in the nature of a cover portion for a comparatively large openmouthed container H which is preferably formed with the rolled-over mouth portion l6. The container is also provided witha circular ridge l6 about the neck of the same, disposed a short distance below the opening in the container.

The cap member ID may be of a size to overlie the opening in the container and have a flat top portion 20 provided with a circular rectangularly shaped groove 22 of approximately the same size as the mouth portion I6. I provide a gasket 24 which is mounted in the groove 22 and adapted when the cap is in a sealing position to rest against the top of the opening IS. The cap member III has a comparatively fiat portion 26extending beyond the edge of the opening I6 and is then formed with downwardly projecting finger members 26. The finger members as shown in Fig. 3, may have spaces between the same connected by a shoulder portion 30. The finger member 26 may be formed in the manner described in the previously mentioned patent with the transverse bends 32 and the inwardly rolled lower edges 34.

The outer or retainer member l2 may be formed with a flat upper portion 36 and an axially disposed opening 36 which permits the positioning of the same over the groove 22 formed in the cap member ill. The member l2 may have a downwardly depending skirt having an external head or flange 46 at its lower end. The head or I irictionally grip under the ridge I! that has been provided in the container, in such a manner that the cap is held upon the container to form an efiective and an air-tight seal.

with the construction as thus provided, when the retainer member I! is pulled upwardly to release thspring finger members "so that the closure member can be removed from a container,

the retainer member I! may be completely rethe cap may be removed from the container. With this construction it can be seen that the separable elements of the closure member are thus fixed together so. that they can not be separated during the time that the cap is removed from the container,

In order to prevent undetected substitution of the contents of the container, I have provided a pair of fianges it which may be struck up from the top and side of the cap member ill at desired locations, preferably at the finger members 28. when a container has been filled with'contents, the closure member may be positioned upon the same in a sealing relation and a portion ll of the flange 48 bent downwardly over the top of the retainer member it The lugs are of course so constructed that when they are re-bent, for

example to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4,' a further attempt to bend them downwardly will cause them to break oil. In this manner, when the contents of the container have been tampered with, it will be at once detected.

From the above and foregoing description it will be apparent that I have provided a closure member for containers having an extremely wide or large mouth. I have also provided in this 4 closure member eflective means for interconnecting the movable elements of the same so that when a closure member isremoved the same will not come apart. It will further be obvious that by reason of the construction of the cap member and the downwardly depending finger members wardly curled reslllenttermirial portion, an outer member contacting the outward bulges of thefingers whereby the outer member subjects said fingers to pressure occasioning longitudinal extension of said fingers to thereby compensate for irregularities on the underside of the shoulder of a receptacle to which said fingers may, be applied; said top member having an upwardly projecting parallel walled circular groove about its edge, a ring-shaped gasket seated in said groove and-adapted to seat upon and be compressed over the upper edge of a receptacle to which the said is applied and interconnecting means between said top member and said outer member to prevent a separation of the same when the closure is not on a receptacle.

is drawn upwardly to release the fingers 18 so and the co-pperation of the retainer member, that 4 an effective seal is provided regardless of the size or irregularity of the opening to which the same is applied.

While I have illustrated and described a specific embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made in the exact details shown, and I do not wish to be limited in any particular; rather what I desire to secure and protect by. Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A closure comprising atop member adapted to cover the opening of a receptacle, a plurality of relatively narrow longitudinally yielding fingers originating at and depending from said top mem-, her about the periphery thereof, each finger being formed with an outward resilient horizontal corrugation intermediate its ends and with an inv 2. A closure member for large mouthed containers comprising a sheet metal cap portion having a fiat upper wall adapted to fit over the mouth of a container, a circular ridge on said cap,the

wall of said cap having downwardly depending fingers with a portion thereof adapted to be pressed over a circular shoulder adjacent the mouth of the container, a retainer member telescoped over said circular ridge on said cap, a downwardly depending skirtthereon adapted to engage said fingers and press them into frictional contact with the above mentioned shoulder and means onsaid retainer and said cap member for locking the same together with limited axial movement between the same.

3. A closure member for large mouthed containers comprising a cap portion having a fiat upper walladapted to fit over the mouth of a container, a narrow. upwardly disposed parallel walled groove in said wall adjacent the edge of the same, a gasket therein adapted-to seat upon the mouth of the container, said wall also having downwardly depending fingers with a portion thereof adapted to be pressed over a circular ridge adjacent the mouth of the container, a retainer member having a circular opening and telescoped over the circular groove on said cap, a downwardly depending skirt thereon adapted to engage said fingers and press them into rrictionaleontact with the above mentioned ridge and means on said retainer and said cap member for locking the same together with limited axial movement between'the \same.

4. A closure member for large mouthed containers of the type having a thin lip around the fiat upper wall adapted to fit over the mouth ofa container, an upwardly disposed circular groove in said wall adjacent the edge of the same, a ring-shaped gasket therein'adaptedto seat upon and be compressed over the mouth of the container, said wall also having downwardly depending fingers with a portion thereof adapted to be pressed over a circular ridge adjacent the mouth of the container, a retainer member having a circular opening and telescoped over the circular groove on saidcap, a downwardly depending skirt thereon adapted to engage said fingers and press them into frictional contact with the above mentioned ridge and means on said retainer and said cap member forlocking the same together with limited axial movement. between the same. said means including shoulders on said cap portion and lugs on said retainer member.

. CHARLES D. MAGNESEN. 

